1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to portable vacuum cleaners, more particularly to, a vacuum cleaner capable of operating with both air and liquid.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, there exists portable vacuum cleaners which pick up or vacuum solid or liquid material. These portable vacuum cleaners are frequently referred to as "wet-dry" vacuum cleaners. Typically, such vacuum cleaners include a filter assembly to filter or resist the passage of dirt through a passageway to the motor.
In the conventional wet-dry vacuum cleaner, the filter includes an integral framework formed by a plurality of ribs with a sealing flange at one end. An air permeable filter member is disposed within the framework. The filter fits within a filter housing and a sealing ring or gasket is disposed between the sealing flange of the filter and a corresponding wall or sealing portion of a filter housing to form a friction fit between the gasket, filter and filter housing.
One disadvantage of the above vacuum cleaner is that there is no provision for positively locking the filter to a filter housing. Another disadvantage is that the gasket may be dislodged during assembly of the vacuum cleaner. If this happens, liquid may leak past the gasket and contact the motor, which is undesirable. Still another disadvantage is that no guiding means exists for ensuring that a seal is properly formed between the filter, gasket and filter housing during assembly. A further disadvantage is that the filter and filter housing cannot be removed as an integral unit from the bowl for cleaning. A still further disadvantage of the above vacuum cleaner is that the operator cannot see through the canister to determine how much liquid and/or dirt is contained within the canister.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide means for ensuring that the seal is properly formed between the filter, gasket and filter housing during assembly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide means for positively locking the filter to a filter housing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a filter and filter housing which can be removed as one unit from the vacuum cleaner for cleaning.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a filter which can be removably separated from a filter housing to permit cleaning.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for the operator to determine the amount of liquid and/or dirt contained within the canister.